“In the mist of Difficulty lies Opportunity.”

“We glorify God by living lives that honor Him.”

“I heard about this man who fell into a pit, and while he was down there several people came by and offered their opinions. The Pharisee said, “You deserve to be in the pit.” The Catholic said, “You need to suffer while you’re in the pit.” The Baptist said, “If you’d been saved, you wouldn’t have fallen into the pit.” The charismatic said, “Just confess I’m not in the pit.” The mathematician said, “Let me calculate how you fell into the pit.” The IRS agent said, “Have you paid taxes on that pit?” The optimist said, “Things could be worse.” The pessimist said, “Things will get worse.”

“What do they teach them at these schools?”

“The great majority of people are “wandering generalities” rather than “meaningful specifics”. The fact is that you can't bit a target that you can't see. If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. You have to have goals.”

“Your calling isn’t something that somebody can tell you about. It’s what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that you are supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.”

“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

“These young Americans sent a message to terrorists everywhere. . . . You can run but you can't hide.”

“You’ve got to be brave. You’ve got to be strong.” When you’re grieving, that’s not the time to be brave. That’s not the time to be strong. You need to be human.

“Chicago, a town that’s accustomed to its racial wounds and prides itself on a certain lack of sentiment.”

“I would not think that philosophy and reason themselves will be man's guide in the foreseeable future; however, they will remain the most beautiful sanctuary they have always been for the select few.”

“El lamento nos deja sin energía. No podemos construir sobre el lamento. El temor al futuro nos distrae y nos llena de aprensión.”

“The founders feared that the central government, once it had united the states, would become too powerful and would impose its will upon the people—or the individual states—without regard to their wishes. This “government knows best” model was one that they were quite familiar with from their extensive studies of other governmental models as well as from their personal experience with the British monarchy. They felt that their best defense against a tyrannical government was to divide the power three ways, with each branch of government having the power to check the other two. They also listed the powers that the federal government would have, being sure to leave the balance of power in the hands of the states and the people. They wisely concluded that the states would not be eager to give additional power to the federal government and limited its power accordingly. Unfortunately, the founders did not realize that the time would come when the federal government would approve a federal taxation system that could control the states by giving or withholding financial resources. Such an arrangement significantly upsets the balance of power between the states and the federal government. As a result, today there are numerous social issues, such as the legalization of marijuana, gay marriage, and welfare reform, that could probably be more efficiently handled at the state level but with which the federal government keeps interfering. The states, instead of standing up for their rights, comply with the interference because they want federal funds. It will require noble leaders at the federal level and courageous leaders at the state level to restore the balance of power, but it is essential that such balance be restored for the sake of the people.”

“Only during a period of war does it become obvious how millions of people can be manipulated. People, millions of people, are filled with pride while doing things which those same people actually consider stupid, evil, dangerous, painful, and criminal, and they strongly criticize these things—but continue doing them.”

“We need to decide how we want to be treated. Then we need to begin treating others in that manner.”